Link Bait: How to Catch More Traffic

We all want to attract more visitors to our websites. No matter what kind of website you have, chances are you feel its content is significant enough to grab the attention of anyone searching the Internet. This is, unfortunately, usually not the case. Your blog or website could have some of the best information and content available, but if there is nothing attracting people to the link, you probably won’t get many visitors at all.

So what can you do to attract more visitors to your website? How about using link bait! Link bait is a method that effectively generates more traffic. Here is some in-depth information to help you become more familiar with link bait and how to use it.

What is Link Bait?

Link bait is the ultimate attention grabber. The method of using link bait has been around for quite some time. Just as newspapers use really “juicy” headlines to capture your attention and all but demand that you read the article, link bait serves the same purpose for a website. The headline is what grabbed your attention and made you want to buy the newspaper to read the article, so theoretically the newspaper used a form of link bait.

Stores and businesses have also been using forms of link bait for years. An example of this is when you see an advertisement about a sale on your favorite chocolate. You then feel the urge to make a special trip to the store so you can buy the chocolate, but when you’re there, you might find other things that you need or want to purchase.

Remember the awesome movie trailer you saw? This is yet another form of link bait; the trailer drove you to want to go see the movie because it was filled with content in which compelled you to watch it.

Link bait on the internet works in the same way all of these examples do, only they can go beyond headlines, ads and trailers. Link bait can be anything from a quirky picture, or an exciting title, or anything else that might attract a person’s attention enough that they feel the desire to click on the link. Basically you are offering up a tempting sample with the hopes of attracting people to your site where they can get the rest of their tasty treat.

How Does Link Bait Work?

Link bait can work in a variety of ways, depending on what kind of content you feel will generate more traffic to your website or blog. Link bait works by showing people things they find remarkable, and when they click on the bait, it ultimately brings them to your site.

Let’s say that you have just posted your newest blog about some of the country’s worst restaurants. The post contains a lot of good information, however you need something that will attract traffic to it. One viable method is posting the blog link on a social media site, which usually generates many visitors- but this sometimes just isn’t good enough.

To entice the most visitors to your blog, you’ll want to find content that will grab everyone’s attention. In the instance of the worst restaurants blog, the link bait could be a picture of a restaurant’s filthy kitchen, placed strategically within the blog.

Some Facts about Link Bait

The website collegehumor.com is a prime example of how effective link bait can be. College Humor uses blogs and articles of humorous topics to generate traffic, and also posts on social media sites. Statistics show that collegehumor.com generates an average of 1,070,865 page views per month, and a staggering 26,021,248 page views each year.

The facts are simple. When using link bait you are 10 times more likely to get people to visit your page than not using any at all. College humor proves this point very well. They give their content interesting titles which makes the user want to learn more about them, and by doing so, they have been successful in getting page views.

The difference Between Link Bait and SEO

You may have heard that SEO or Search Engine Optimized is an effective way to generate visitors to your site. Some people may think that SEO works the same as link bait does, but it doesn’t, so it is important to know the difference between these two terms, as they are not interchangeable.

SEO works by using keyword-specific words which get placed throughout an article or website. These keywords trigger search engines to recognize them when a user searches for similar words in a search engine. An example of this would be if someone did a search for window installation techniques. If you had a website that was about window installation, then you would input as many keywords about this topic as needed to get it recognized by search engines.

Link bait is different from SEO because it does not solely involve using certain words to get users to click on the link. Instead link bait attracts users by using something of high interest, which then makes them clink on the link and possibly view the rest of the website’s content. So instead of people being drawn to the website through keywords, they are instead guided to the website using fun or interesting “teasers” pertaining to the site.

Tips to Making Your Link Bait Successful

As you have read previously, link bait works because having good content on your site will attract visitors, but how do you know what kind of bait will be the most effective?

Just like in fishing, specific bait is used to catch different types of fish. This also applies to link bait—so having successful bait depends entirely on the audience you wish to attract. If you are wanting to attract parents to your site, try using content in which they would find useful. If you want to attract Katy Perry fans, then use link bait containing images of Katy Perry. By using content-specific bait you attract people that are generally interested in what the link bait shows.

Also be mindful of how the link bait is presented. This means the content should be well placed on the site so that it not only grabs a person’s attention but retains it as well. A picture of a cute puppy will generate site visits, however, if the website lacks quality/interesting content, chances are it won’t get as many visits.

Conclusion

Last but not least, create link bait that is unique and stands out. This means you are creating something that is exceptional and exclusive to your site. By doing this you will generate many more hits because it will be something memorable, new and different. To do this you should do your own research on similar topics to your own and find out what is already out there, then produce some

About Sean Donahoe

Sean is one of the most recognized industry leaders in business and marketing. As a popular speaker, author, consultant he has helped over 50,000 students world wide find success in their businesses and has consulted with Fortune 500 companies and businesses of every size grow and thrive...